The subject application relates generally to a header for use with agricultural harvesters. In particular, the subject application relates to an improved windrow shield control system for use with pull-type or self-propelled mower headers.
Mower headers have been used to cut plants including, but not limited to, hay, grasses, small grains and the like for many years. Because of their particular cutting devices, such mower headers are often referred to as Disc Mower Conditioners (DMCs). A pull-type DMC is pulled by a tractor and can have a trailing tongue that pivots and is attached to the left side of the header trail frame or chassis (Side Pull DMC) or it can have a trailing tongue that pivots and attaches to the center of the header trail frame or chassis (Center Pivot DMC). Side pull DMC's can only pivot to the right of the tractor and center pivot DMC's can pivot to the left or right of the tractor. The cutting of the DMC, whether pull-type or self-propelled, is performed by a cutter device. The cutter device of a typical DMC is made up of multiple discs arranged in side-by-side relationship with each disc having a plurality of cutting knives. The discs spin at a certain RPM sufficient to cut the crop. Other mowing apparatuses may include sickle mowers or rotary mowers. Regardless of the type of mowing apparatus, the cutter device feeds the cut crop into a conditioner such as a roll conditioner or a flail conditioner. Which conditioner is used depends on the crop being cut. The rolls of a roll conditioner are typically either rubber, urethane or steel. After being conditioned the crop is propelled out of the back of the mower and onto the ground. Adjustable shielding in the back of the mower allows the operator to lay the cut crop in a swath such that it covers the ground like a carpet or mat or in a windrow whereby crop lays in a tall row. The manner in which crop is laid on the ground (mat or windrow) depends on whether the crop needs to be dried more and/or how it is to be picked up and packaged.
Whether pull-type or self-propelled, mower headers are normally equipped with spaced apart windrow shields that are pivotably connected at their proximal ends to the trail frame or chassis of the header. The windrow shields are panel-like members that are manually set to desired positions in order to adjust the width and lateral location of the crop windrow produced by the mower. The mower is often equipped with field or harvesting wheels which contact the ground surface during mowing/harvesting and transport wheels which contact the ground when the mower is to be transported over farm lanes, through gates or on roads where the machine width will not allow passage of the mower in the mowing orientation.
The ability to provide narrow road transport capabilities on a DMC or other mower apparatus requires that any parts of the machine extending beyond the typical 10-foot maximum width for transport mode must be collapsed or moved in for road transport. This includes the windrow shields. This can be accomplished by the operator exiting the tractor and closing the windrow shields before deploying the transport wheels. That is, when transitioning the mower from the field mode to the transport mode, the tractor operator must dismount the tractor and physically close the windrow shields in order to reduce the width of the mower header in transport. Not only is this task time consuming, the operator must remember to do so, especially in circumstances where a transport wheel frame might come into contact with the windrow shields when being disposed from its inoperative (raised) to operative (lowered) positions. As will be appreciated, the operator may not always remember to place the windrow shields into the closed position, which can result in damage to the open windrow shields by contact of the windrow shields with the transport wheel frame when the transport wheels are lowered into their ground-engaging operative position.